THE refurbishment of a grand Bradford banking hall has been hailed as an ideal example of how the city’s heritage buildings can be restored.

Yesterday saw the official opening of the new Natwest bank on Market Street. The building, which dates back to the 1870s, is one of the city centre’s most impressive buildings and was known as the Bradford District Bank.

However, for many years the building has been underused - only business customers ever used the building, and much of its architecture, including its grand ceilings, were covered by modern additions.

Over the summer work was done to restore the building, next to The Broadway shopping centre, to its former glory, and the bank has re-opened as the main Natwest branch in the city.

It means the stunning Victorian features are now open for the public to see, and the Bradford Civic Society hopes that the refurbishment inspires the owners of other city centre buildings to make the most of the city’s impressive architecture.

Other recent work to improve Bradford’s heritage buildings include the £4 million refurbishment of Grade I listed Bradford City Hall. And work is currently being done on an empty unit in the Wool Exchange. Independent Tiffin Coffee will be opening in an empty space in the building in December, and the unit is in the process of a major refurbishment.

The former Natwest building on Hustlergate, another listed building, has been closed as part of the bank’s city centre changes, and is on the market for £600,000.

Si Cunningham, chairman of the Bradford Civic Society, praised the work done to the Market Street building, saying: “I think this restoration is a really significant step for Bradford. NatWest have shown how a heritage building can be brought into modern usage, and it looks especially good at night when it’s all lit up.

“The ceiling inside is the stuff of Instagram gold, so it’s good that the people of Bradford can get a proper look at it now. My hope is that this sets a precedent for bringing more and more buildings like this back into use.

“The Size? shoe shop opposite is another really good example of sympathetic design with a contemporary touch.

“We’ve got a Grade II listed building over the road at the corner of Cheapside and Kirkgate that’s crying out to be a nice restaurant.

“We have to take a look at who does good work with historic buildings nationally – so we should persuade BrewDog or whoever to take on the site at the bottom of Bank Street to bring even more life to this little corner of the city.

“If we can crack those, and also bring a couple of those gems on Hustlergate back into use, we’ll have a really impressive, enviable historic core to complement Broadway.”

As well as the ceilings, which feature sculpted cherubs, the refurbishment has restored memorial plaques and imposing wooden doors, as well as new lighting on the outside.

Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Abid Hussain officially opened the building, and told the Telegraph & Argus: “It is a great building and what they have done with it is amazing. I’d like to see the rest of the heritage buildings in Bradford refurbished like this. Let’s promote our old buildings and get more people into Bradford to see them.”

The opening saw live music, a magician and food for visitors.

Janet Hart, branch manager, said: “The building was hardly used for years. It was used for business meetings but not open to customers. A lot was closed off and it was almost derelict upstairs. It was a bit like the Mary Celeste, it was sad to see. But what has been done has been unbelievable. It has been a long time coming.”

Councillor Alex Ross Shaw, heritage champion for Bradford Council, said: “It is great to see a business investing in its heritage. We have a lot of heritage buildings in the city, and we have to see them looked after. A lot of them are not seeing their full potential at the moment.

“We all have a responsibility to maintain our heritage.”